Renaissance
by SaltedLily
Summary: Van Slanzar de Fanel survived the loss of his entire family, fought in the War To End All Wars, built a country from ashes at the age of nineteen. But now, with Hitomi’s return, Van faces his greatest challenge yet—a guy from the Mystic Moon.
1. Da Capo

_To most Gaians, the Great War was a quickly fading memory. Countries that had been ravished were steadily regaining prosperity, families that had been destroyed were healing with time, and—for most—the humdrum routine of daily life had quickly replaced the terror they had lived with for so many years. In fact, for old kingdoms, which had remained torpid and stagnant, trapped in their own history, the Great War was, in some strange way, almost... a blessing. Gaia was experiencing something that it hadn't seen since the time of the Draconians; an opulent flourish of art, technology, science, philosophy, music, literature, architecture, medicine, mathematics, trade, agriculture and on and on and on... In mere months, entire lives, entire industries, entire civilizations changed, developed, grew. With Fanelia at the vanguard, Gaia was entering a new time, a new era, a... _

**_Renaissance_**

**Chapter 1- Da Capo (From the Beginning)**

There was an interval in the procession of floats, and Hitomi's eyes wandered past Ken, who was sitting beside her, and around the park. It was the typical scene, replete with parents, children, teenagers, dogs, and a lot of birds. Her gaze passed over all of these, and snagged on one bedraggled grayish-colored feather. She reached out and picked it up, fingering it wistfully.

University was over, and soon she'd be going back to Japan. She'd be a writer, she thought, or an editor. There wasn't much opportunity for a World Literature major. But she did have a flare for it, and an awfully good idea for a book that took place in another world, where there were two moons in the sky, and angels were considered to be demons, and with a handsome and strong king with a tragic past, and his catgirl sidekick.

Hitomi's eyes stung. Van... if only she hadn't been such a coward... now she would never get the opportunity to tell him.

How she wished she were in Fanelia right this very moment...

There was a blinding flash of blue light.

* * *

**Excerpt from page A3 of the London Times, June 15: **

_"UFOs? TEENS VANISH MYSTERIOUSLY IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS!!_

_"Yesterday, onlookers at the Margaret Stannings Memorial River Festival received the shock of their lives as a large blue beam enveloped and carried off two London teenagers. _

_"The teens, a male and female, both of apparently Japanese descent, were sitting on a red and white blanket beside the Chatham River, when, at approximately 3:35p.m, the light appeared. It centered on the female, pulling her upwards first, and when the male grabbed her arm to help her, it surrounded him as well. _

_" ' I thought it was just a publicity stunt at first,' said Mary Richards, who witnessed this spectacle. 'But when nothing happened after half an hour, I wasn't so sure'. _

_"The teens, who were later identified as Hitomi Kanzaki(24) and Kentaro Yamata(25), had just graduated from nearby Regents University. Their distraught dorm-mates described them as 'wonderful people and great friends'. _

_"Oxford University's Dean of Astronomical Irregularities, Michael York, had the following to say, 'UFO sightings are quite common, but mostly it is only one or two people who see it. This "blue light" sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi flick so I am disinclined to believe that it is the work of aliens. Keep in mind, however, that the imagery of alien abduction must come from somewhere...'_

_"The two teenagers are being considered Missing Persons and their families have been notified. Scotland Yard proposes to organize a nation-wide personhunt for the two._

_"As we know very little about the nature of the beam at present, anyone with information should call the police hotline at 1-888-234-2345_

_"Hitomi, Kentaro, wherever you are, we all pray for your safe return." _

* * *

**Viarie, Fanelia...**

"VAAANNN!!!" yelled Merle loudly, as she dashed through the teeming bazaar of Viarie, the capital of the re-stored Fanelia. Down the street several window panes cracked, and Merle's ears twitched in annoyance. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth again.

"Merle!" came a quick voice before she could scream again. Merle closed her mouth and looked around. Down the street, a vegetable vendor nonchalantly took out the carrots he'd stuffed in his ears, and several people emerged from the cart they'd dived under and casually re-occupied themselves with their interrupted tasks.

"Mica!" cried Merle cheerfully. "How's the business?"

Mica Resanndi was an excellent source of news, and had a surprisingly benevolent nature for a 12-year-old.

"Oh, excellently," she said, smiling fondly at Merle. "With King Van around all business is wonderful as usual."

Van was the best kind of king to have. He was kind, compassionate, generous and extremely gullible. Compliments made his ears turn red, and caused the people around him to suppress sniggers.

Merle beamed. "Speaking of Van, could you tell me where he is?"

"Certainly! He's helping to rebuild the Arts Pavilion today," she said, gesturing in the vague direction of the Inner City area.

"Thanks, Mica! Oh, and by the way, I needed to order a couple of bushels of assorted vegetables from your mother."

"Really?" asked Mica, as she jotted down the order. "What's the occasion?"

Merle gestured vaguely. "Oh, you know, banquet this, honor that. The Elders never get tired of it." She flashed Mica a hand signal. _Princess arriving._

"You realize, of course, that any rotten vegetables that may or may not end up in the Princess' plate are not the fault of Resanndi and Daughters," said Mica.

Merle smirked, and the sunlight glinted off her teeth. "What princess?"

She dashed along until she came to Arts Pavilion that was being built on one side of Fanelia's large Centre Square. The Pavilion was on the East side; behind it was the cultural district, and behind that was the recovering Escaflane Forest, and Lake Fanel. To the South was Fanelia's industrial district- the market place, the emerald mines, and the Weaving Circle. To the North was the agricultural district- the farmland and the mountains behind it. To the West was the residential district, and at the furthest end was the Fanelian Castle.

"VAAAAANNNNNN!!" yelled Merle as she reached the Centre Square. Some of the workers at the Pavilion winced as the glass doors they'd just installed shattered. Merle sprinted over Drakian Bridge, one of the many bridges spanning the River Hitomi, which meandered through the kingdom.

"I'm afraid Van isn't here anymore, Lady Merle," said a young male half-cat, by the name of Sweyn Rezard, falling into step beside her. He was tall, with desperately messy red hair, and features that were not soon disregarded.

"Call him King Van!" she insisted, though she knew full-well that he was one of Van's closest friends, and that the young king had maintained that the honorific be forgone.

"As you wish, Lady Merle," he complied, a little too easily. Merle frowned. "Why does the Lady Merle desire King Van this morning?" continued Sweyn.

"The Armistice Meeting has already started, and the kings are already in a huff because Van isn't there," she mumbled.

Sweyn grimaced slightly. "Poor Van. A few of the kings have been looking for an excuse to get their daughters here."

"Where is he, then?" she asked.

"Well, he may be here, he may be there, but I'm sure we can find him _together_."

"Do you know where he is, or don't you?" hissed Merle, impatiently.

Sweyn gave her an infuriatingly sweet smile. "That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether he's still where I suppose him to be."

Merle stopped and glared at him, but Sweyn sauntered on.

"Hey! Wait up!" She caught up to him, pouting.

"Why? Does the beauteous Lady Merle desire my attentions?"

"No, of course not!"

"You do!" crowed Sweyn, triumphantly.

"I do not!" Merle exclaimed, blushing and indignant.

"You do!"

"I do not!"

"I do not!"

"YES, I DO AND THAT'S FINAL!" yelled Merle, stomping away.

Sweyn smirked to himself. "I can live with that."

* * *

"Van, this is inexcusable! It's three days in a row now that you been late for an Armistice meeting." Elder Sammael waggled two bony fingers under Van's eyes. "Three days!" 

Van just managed to stifle his smirk at the Elder's mathematical skills.

"I'm sorry, Van, but you know what has to be done."

Van snapped to attention. "C'mon, no! Don't do that! Princess Anameria has just left, and she was a pain in the-"

"Van Fanel!"

"-neck."

Elder Sammael sighed. "King Gossam has been trying for weeks now, and finally he has an excuse. Van, you know you bring these things upon yourself."

"I do not!" he said, frowning. "I can't just sit in my palace while everyone else works to rebuild the city!"

Elder Sammael put his head in his hands. "But that's what you're supposed to do!!!!" he cried. There was a pause, in which the Elder took a deep breath. "Okay, okay. Just...just... let Gossam's daughter visit and we'll... umm... we'll grant you one request that we absolutely hate." There were nods from the elders around him.

"Fine," acquiesced Van, frowning. "But I won't like it."

"No one is asking you to like it. The main thing is that you like her."

Van grimaced. "As long as you realize that I promised nothing. I'm leaving."

Sweyn caught up with him as he slammed through the double doors, and into the courtyard. "And?"

"King Gossam's daughter."

"I thought so...Gossam, hmm..." murmured Sweyn casting around for a name. "No! Calliope of Gossamer?"

"Guess so," muttered Van. "I didn't ask." He sighed at Sweyn's wide-eyed expression. "What?"

"Calliope Amerlda de Gossam. Five foot, four. Considered to be quite the beauty. Blonde, blue-eyed. Great figure. Lovely voice. Not a total airhead, but not the sharpest sword on the rack either. Her rack itself however..."

"Shut up."

"Van, look, if you stopped messing up when it comes to the Coalition of Kingdoms, those Kings would have nothing to so beatifically forgive you for, and you wouldn't have to do them any favors by allowing their daughters to visit."

"Or," said Van. "They could just realize that I'm not interested in their daughters, and that I am in love with someone else altogether."

"Yes, Hitomi. We all know about Hitomi. I pity both of you should she ever return. It'll be hell for you to keep it a secret that you love her since you announced it publicly."

"Um...maybe she'll realize... that was just a political stratagem?" suggested Van, weakly.

Sweyn rolled his eyes. "Yes Van, and on the day that a girl is born so gullible may all of Gaea hail you as Supreme-Lord-High-of-Everything."

The young king looked very thoughtful. "You know..."

"No, Van."

"But---"

"_No_, Van."

"Fine, fine, it was just a thought."

* * *

Hitomi was sitting on his bed, smiling a provocative smile. Van grinned happily. 

"I was nothing without you, Van," she whispered to him, and the smile got a little more provocative. "We should be together, Van, forever and for always."

He nodded, and contemplated wondrously that it was rather a positive thing that Hitomi was coming closer. Then she punched him in the side of the head.

"VAN FANEL! DAMMIT! WAKE UP!" Now that didn't sound like something Hitomi would say.

Van opened one sleepy eye. "Go to hell, Sweyn. I was having a good dream."

"Yeah, I know. You kept saying 'Hitomi, Hitomi!' and some other things that I don't think I'm supposed to say in public. At least not in front of anyone whom I don't fully intend to sleep with soon."

Now both Van's eyes and his mouth were fully open. "I w-wasn't..." he stammered. "...was I?"

Sweyn gave him a lopsided grin. "So you were having a dirty dream about—"

"Shut. Up."

Sweyn just kept on grinning that stupid grin of him. He opened the curtains, glanced out the window, and smacked himself on the forehead. "I was supposed to wake you up for a bloody reason. Throne room! Now!"

"What? Why?... No, you've got to be joking; Calliope's here already?! But she only left yesterday!"

Sweyn laughed. "Gossamer is at least a week's journey, even by airship, and her entourage is on the ground. Which means-"

"She was probably on her way weeks before the Elder's Council gave permission," finished Van, glumly. "I hate being part of these ploys. If Gossam wants an alliance between our countries, at least he could be upfront about it."

"Van, I sympathize and I empathize and I commiserate, but if you don't get your ass out of bed, into some formal clothes, and into that throne room, you will have to receive Princess Calliope in your bedroom. And I don't think she'll have any qualms about that."

Van started, and without a moment's hesitation, had grabbed his formal outfit, and dashed into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he and Sweyn arrived breathless in the throne room, and Van had just plopped down in his seat, when the guard announced, "Princess Calliope Amerlda de Gossam, Princess of Gossamer."

Princess Calliope swept into the room. Van eyed her critically. She was pretty, with long golden curls, and deep blue eyes, and everything else that Sweyn had accused her off. Of course, her eyes just didn't have that same sparkle that Hitomi's had, and her step just didn't have that same vivacity that Hitomi's had, and her lips didn't have the same intelligent curve that Hitomi's had. But then, Van was a very prejudiced judge.

"Good morning, Van. May I call you Van?" she asked. Her voice was startling. It was as a clear as cold water, and for all its sweet chime, it had a slight tang to it. Like a clementine orange that is just two days from full sweetness. And each word rang with sincerity, even when she asked the most common questions.

"Yes, you may," said Van, evenly.

"Good." Calliope half-smiled. "I hope we'll get to know each other well, Van." Van reflected that now her smile looked a lot like dream-Hitomi's had that morning.

"Owww!" yelped Sweyn, who was standing to Van's right. He glared at Merle beside him. "What'd you do that for?!" he asked, rubbing his injured side.

"Well, it got your tongue off the floor and back into your mouth, didn't it?"

"It was not on the floor."

"You were drooling!"

"Even if I was, why do you care?"

"I don't!" said Merle, too quickly. "It's just impolite!"

"You-"

There was the sound of a throat clearing in the most deliberate possible way. Merle and Sweyn paused to give Van a sheepish look.

Calliope's smile turned wicked. "As much this amuses all of us, we're trying to hold court here, so if you could take your barely concealed sexual tension outside, that'd be great."

"WHAT!?! We-"

"No! I ju-"

Van smiled. "Well, you heard the lady."

Merle and Sweyn sputtered for an instant longer, and then, glaring daggers at Calliope, shuffled out of the throne room.

"They're quite the pair, aren't they?" said Calliope to Van, conversationally, as if there weren't 50 other nobles, servants, and assorted bourgeoisie clustered in the relatively small room.

"That's very tactful of you. Most ask me right out if they're crazy."

"HEY!" protested the voices of Merle and Sweyn from the hallway. Van grinned. Perhaps this wouldn't be all that bad.


	2. Tutti

_**Renaissance**_

**Chapter 2 - Tutti (All Together)**

Hitomi and Ken landed in an ungraceful heap beside Escaflowne, which was sitting in a great granite throne, and was covered with moss from disuse. A loud banging immediately began to echo around them.

_Bong! Dong!_

Ken was the first to come to his senses.

"Where on earth-?" he exclaimed loudly, taking in the gigantic quasi-robotic fighting machine.

_Bong! Dong!_

Hitomi rubbed her eyes. "We're on Gaia, you mean," she said absently.

_Bong! Dong!_

"What? Gaia?"

_Bong! Dong!_

"Yeah. Er... It's a hidden planet behind the moon... I'll, um, explain it to you when we get out of here."

_Bong! Dong! Crash!_

Ken gave her an incredulous look, then sighed, clamping his hands over his ears. "Is it always so loud?"

_Bong! Dong!_

"Not really. Can't think what-"

_Bong! Dong!_

"-that could be."

Suddenly the banging ceased, and eerie sort of silence descended.

"Well," said Ken, optimistically. "It stopped. Things can only get better from here."

Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by heavily armoured soldiers, and very sharp-looking swords.

"Ah," said Hitomi, the World Literature graduate. "The use of irony to prove a point."

* * *

Sweyn burst into the throne room, feeling almost panicky. As this was a new emotion for him, his face wasn't quite sure how to portray it, leaving him with an expression somewhere between nausea and terror and outright amusement.

"Sweyn, what's... wrong?" asked Van, hesitantly.

"You'll never believe it. An envoy just came from the East Quarter. Someone's tried to steal Escaflowne."

"And they've been caught?"

"Yeah. It was the motion-detecting gong what did them in," he added, smugly.

Van looked amused. "I'll never doubt you again, Sweyn."

"Well, they're on their way here, so you can 'send them to their fate', or something to that effect."

"What fate? We don't even have dungeons! Every good castle has dungeons," he muttered under his breath.

"You could always sentence them to community service..." suggested Sweyn, smirking.

"Look, _I_ thought it was a good idea, okay?"

* * *

"Well, at least these are awfully nice heavily-armoured, sword-wielding guards," said Ken, settling himself comfortably against the velvet cushions of the carriage where they were "imprisoned". Hitomi had just finished telling him an abridged version of what had happened the last time she came to Gaia.

She nodded. "It's Van's kingdom. I suspect he doesn't have the heart to treat even hardened criminals badly."

"Yes'm," said the carriage driver. "And them criminals jus' ain't got the 'eart to do nothing too bad in Fanelia. On account of King Van would give them his famous 'I'm very disappointed in you; I thought we'd come so far' speech."

Hitomi laughed. "Van must have really changed since I last saw him. I wish I'd been around to see what he's accomplished."

"Do you know King Van, ma'am?"

"I... yeah... we fought together during the Great War. I was on the Crusade with him, Merle and Allen."

The driver thought about this for a moment.

"...and there are half-animal people..." murmured Ken, who was still ruminating over her story.

"Yes, dear," responded Hitomi.

"Ma'am, you don't by 'ny chance mean King Allen Schezar, d'you?"

"Yea---King! Allen's a king? Of WHAT?!"

"Allen Schezar, the Caeli knight, got hitched with Queen Emilia Saechelle de Renald of Ariaferd. She really likes him. They gots a daughter too, pretty as a picture, Desdemona is."

A little something clamoured for attention in the back of Hitomi's mind but she dismissed it. "I've never heard of Ariaferd. Where is it?"

" 'S a little country on the other side of Lake Fanel. 'Twas burnt down in the War, y'know."

"Of course..."

"...and they think angels are actually devils..." murmured Ken.

"Miss, I don't mean no disrespect, but you seems like an awful nice young girl. What'd you wanna go and steal Escaflowne for?"

Hitomi paused. She was saved from having to explain the precarious situation, when the driver cried out. He stopped the carriage, and jumped out, running towards some unknown destination. He was gone for a couple of minutes, and Hitomi reflected how easy it would be, were they real criminals, to sneak out of the carriage right then.

"What's the matter?" asked Hitomi, when the driver returned.

"Litterbugs," he said, shaking his head mournfully. "There's nothing we hates more in Fanelia than litterbugs."

Hitomi gazed around the city in wonderment, and Ken muttered:

"...and a mad old guy built a giant fate machine..."

* * *

Van was sulking. The Elders and the nobles had decided that this would be the ideal time for Calliope to see how Fanelia law worked (which was, essentially, Van talking to the perpetrators in a very disappointed voice until they promised to renounce all wrong-doing out of sheer boredom). And so the Princess had taken Hitomi's seat. Actually, it was the Queen's throne, but Van had always thought of it as Hitomi's. Of course, it was unthinkable that he should say as much, so Van had settled for the political solution and was slumped in his seat, pouting.

The herald blew his trumpet, and Van sat up straight out of shock.

"Hey, Shawn?" he called.

"Yessir?"

"I don't think that's the right song for announcing people..."

Shawn Ogg was Fanelia's border-guard, post office, herald, official jester, and privy-cleaner. He blinked now.

"Sorry, sir. S'only song I know, sir."

"But, Shawn... that's the wedding march, isn't it?"

"Yessir. Mum made me learn it, sir. For Jelianne's wedding, sir."

"Um...right... only, er, I don't know if its quite appropriate, Shawn..."

Hitomi walked into the room, and Merle jabbed Van with her elbow.

"Actually, I think its quite appropriate," she hissed.

* * *

"I dunno," said Captain Josief, studying the figures in front of him. "It doesn't seem...entirely right to me. I've never seen anyone do it this way before."

King Ckegaard Immane de Soren shrugged in a sort of half-hearted way. "So it is original. They'll never suspect the attack."

"Sti-ill...."

"Look, I DON'T CARE what you think. JUST FOLLOW ORDERS!"

The captain shrunk down a little in his seat as King Soren towered over him. His eyes drifted to the map of Gaia spread out on the desk between them. It was crisscrossed with arrows, circles, and "X"s.

"But..." he said, hesitantly. "What the point of moving the army in that little arrow shape? It seems totally illogical... why don't we all rush madly at the enemy instead of moving in a little line! And it seems kind of stup-er... imprudent to move in 'X's. And how on Gaia do you expect the men to always keep that little circle formation?"

King Soren smacked his forehead. "Don't be an idiot," he said, rolling his eyes. "If the Great Book of General Tacticus says it, it must work!"

"But... he's dead, isn't he, sir?"

Soren glared. "You're missing the point _entirely_!"

* * *

Van and Calliope looked perfect. Both handsome, sitting tall, side by side, dressed in ceremonial regalia. Every inch the King and Queen of Fanelia. Except, of course, that Van was choking, Merle was sniggering, and Sweyn was making connections very very fast.

"The People Who Were Trying To Steal Escaflowne," said Shawn Ogg, imperially.

"We weren't trying to steal it," said Hitomi. "The blue light tunnel just happened to land us right beside it."

One of the bourgeoisie snorted derisively. "If I had a nickel for every time I'd heard that excuse..."

Van just gave him a bewildered look. "Um......" he said eloquently.

There was a short awkward pause, in which Merle's elbow jabbed into Van's side at least four times.

"Aww, for heavens sake!" she cried at last. "That," she pointed a finger at Hitomi, "is the Great Seeress From The Mystic Moon, Hitomi Kanzaki, and that," she pointed at Ken, "is someone I don't know at all."

"Kentaro Yamata," said Ken, bowing gracefully, just like he'd seen in the latest of the "Kings of Europe" series. Several of the females in the room murmured appreciatively, and Van was suddenly assailed by thoughts along the line "who the hell is that?" and "why, in the name of all that is Draconian, is he with Hitomi?".

Muffled whispers began, which became loud buzzing, then distinct speech, and finally yells across the room to old friends filled the small throne room. Hitomi Kanzaki was finally here. Fanelia was finally going to have a queen. Bumbling Betsy had finally won at nineteen-to-three odds in the horse races. And other important revelations like that...

Van slid off his throne, and went towards Hitomi.

"Hey," he said, with a huge grin on his face.

Hitomi hugged him. "Hey."

"Why are you here?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too," said Ken.

"And who is he?" said Van.

"I'd sort of like to know that too," added Ken.

"First question, I have no idea. Second question, Van, meet Kentaro Yamata, as he already said, who goes to college with me. Ken, meet Van Slanzar de Fanel, King of Fanelia, whom I've already told you about."

Sweyn sauntered up beside them, with Merle right behind him.

"Lady Hitomi," he said, kissing her hand with catlike charm and suavity. "I am Sweyn Rezard, Master of the Guild of Architects, and royal best friend and right hand man." He smiled a slow captivating smile, the effect of which was rather spoiled by Merle and Van hitting him on the back of the head.

"Heyyyy!" he said, wounded. "I was being nice!"

Merle held him by the ear, and he grumbled painfully.

"Don't mind Sweyn," said Merle, linking arms with Hitomi. "He's just trying to make me jealous. Which," she added, twisting his ear a bit and earning an "OwOwOwOw!" from her captive, "is not working by the way."

Hitomi grinned. "This is Merle," she said to Ken. "I told you about her too. From the looks of it, she's found herself a boyfriend."

"Why must everyone persist in the belief that we're dating..." said Sweyn.

"...when it so painfully obvious that we're only friends!" finished Merle.

Van, Hitomi, and Ken exchanged friendly grins. Merle and Sweyn look sheepish.

And from behind them Calliope glared at a world which was suddenly rather unfavourable to her cause.

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--- Note that Shawn Ogg does not belong to me, but to the absolutely fantastic Terry Pratchett. For those who have no idea who Terry Pratchett is; bugger off and read the Discworld series.


	3. Allargando

**Renaissance**

**Chapter 3- Allargando (Broadening) **

_Dearest Sedrin,_

_FATHER LIED TO ME!!! THAT ABSOLUTE BASTARD!!! I MADE SUCH AN IDIOT OF MYSELF!! DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!!!! _

_Alright, alright, I know you would tell me to take a deep breath, so okay... I'm breathing. Right. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Okay. _

_Well, we arrived in Fanelia today and held court with Fanel and his little group. It was in the small throne room (y'know, the famous one where all the peasants can always come for a private audience with the king?). I suppose that I should be pissed off by that calculated insult, but really, who cares? I definitely have better things to be angry about. _

_For at least two months now, you know that Father has been pressuring me to come to Fanelia. He used every excuse in the stupid book. "Our kingdoms must be allied", "Gossamer needs an heir", "it would do wonders for Gaian bloody peace". You heard them all right along side me. He even sunk as low as "King Fanel is threatening war if you don't go to him". Yes, I know you never heard that. He had one of those quiet, heartfelt, father-daughter talks with me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I seriously thought it was a concern. I didn't want to be the reason for another Great War. _

_Argh! I can't believe I fell for his bullshit! Father just approached the Coalition YESTERDAY!! We were on the road almost non-stop for three weeks! And he speaks to them YESTERDAY!! Fanel hasn't been threatening WAR!! He didn't even want me here in the first place!! But I went, like a little puppy, and smiled sweetly at him, and curtseyed, and just about grovelled!! IT MAKES ME SO MAAAAAAADDDD!! Yeah, yeah, I'm breathing, I'm breathing. Seriously, though, I feel like such a complete idiot. _

_Now, here's the fun bit. Remember the legend of the Seeress? Beautiful, powerful girl from the Mystic Moon is transported to Gaia, meets Van Fanel who seeks revenge for his destroyed country, they overcome Zaibach, blah blah blah, Fanel falls in love with her, before he gets a chance to tell her, she leaves for the Mystic Moon, Fanel feels he can never love again, and girl remains enigmatic mystery, et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum. But the point, you ask? _

_She's back!_

_Right in the middle of our formal meeting, there's a big commotion, and it turns out that she's landed beside Escaflowne. She's escorted into the throne room, Fanel leaves his throne and goes down to have a muted conversation with her and this guy from the Mystic Moon that she's brought along. I'm pretty sure he (new guy) is her boyfriend. And though I feel sorry for Fanel, I have to giggle, because I predict there'll be a lot of amusing melodrama around here for quite a while. The Seeress, by the way, is in love with Fanel. No one's actually suggested as much, but its one of those glaringly obvious things that you can't believe _everyone _doesn't already know. _

_Ahh, it's funny. Of course, this leaves me feeling incredibly self-conscious and out of place on the Queen's throne. What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm here to try to seduce a guy into marriage when I don't like him, he doesn't like me, and we're both taken already... _

_I'm just glad you forced me into that acting course at the Theatre Guild, no matter how much Father went on about it afterwards. Gives me a bit of an edge in this situation._

_I'm sorry, Sedrin, I know I've been going on and on about this. But write back to me soon. I want to know about you and about Kai, and Redya, and everyone back home. I miss all of you so much. You especially, darling._

_Love and kisses, _

_Calliope_

* * *

A little girl, not more than seven years old, was sitting under the apple blossom tree. In her lap, she held a board game. She stared at the complex swirls and tiny moving pieces with an expression of deep concentration. She tapped her cheek thoughtfully, then moved a piece forward, and spun a small wheel.

An apple dropped into her lap, and she clapped her hands delightedly, picked it up and began munching on it, eyes never leaving the board. There was a little blue-rimmed red piece that seemed to be holding her attention, but it looked just like the three or four hundred other red pieces on her intricate board. She prodded the piece to the left almost imperceptibly, and suddenly looked very smug.

Her gaze went up to the house, and her lips mouthed the words; "one... two... three..."

"Daisy!" called a laughing, feminine voice from inside.

The little girl carefully set her board game down, and threw her apple core as far as she could. Then she spun the little wheel back to its original position, and covered the board with a cloth.

"Coming, mommy!" she called back, skipping happily towards the house.

Behind her, two blossoming apple trees sent their fragrance out into the wind.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon in Viarie, and love and happiness seemed to permeate the air. Flowers were blooming, the sun was shining, birds were chirping, children were frolicking.

Well, no, not really. Sometimes, Mother Nature just _refuses_ to co-operate for the greater romantic good.

It _was_ mid-afternoon in Viarie, but it was raining and miserable. The flowers were sopping wet, the sun was eclipsed by thunder clouds, the birds were looking very bedraggled, mostly cowering in their nests, and the children were in school and therefore prevented from frolicking of any kind at the moment.

There was a little bit of love and happiness permeating inside, but really only between Van and Hitomi who had strange soppy grins on, and were blushing rather a lot. The rest of the world was going along its merry way, and the cooks, for example, were certainly not affected (except Birdie, who was Merle's friend, and was now employed in baking a large, pink, heart-shaped cake).

Hitomi and Ken had been installed in rooms on the same floor as Van, Merle, and Sweyn. Calliope and her retinue had taken over the entire floor above them, and though, Van had tried to squirm out of it, the Elder's Council had insisted that she be included in "everything, which means, _everything_, not some of the things, not most of the things, and not 'I tried but she didn't seem interested', but abso-bloody-lutely everything. Are you listening to me, Van?".

The banquet for the arriving princess had been upgraded (by the Elder's Council, who believed that if you were going to host uninvited but very important people, you might as well do it in style) to an all-out festival, and the palace was bustling with activity.

"WE NEED MORE TINSEL!!" yelled Merle at the top of her lungs.

There was a moment of bewildered silence, and then all the staff shuffled into action murmuring something along the lines of "Tinsel! Right! Of course, we need more tinsel! Absolutely! Honestly, Henry, you're such an idiot not to notice that we don't have enough tinsel! What do we pay you for anyway?"

Merle glared around her, and everyone moved slightly faster so as not to get lampooned. Sweyn tapped her on the shoulder, and the resultant screech caused his delicate cat hearing to protest adamantly, and the ice sculpture of a giraffe on a nearby table to exploded into tiny fragments (which is probably for the best, because the reason it was there in the first place is inexplicable).

"M-Merle..." he whimpered. "C-Calm down!"

Merle glowered. "I'M CALM!!" she exploded. "LOOK!! THIS IS ME BEING PERFECTLY BLEEDIN' CALM!! ARE YOU LOOKING?!?!"

Sweyn covered his ear with his hands, and whimpered just a little bit more. He made a very pathetic picture, and suddenly Merle was all sweetness and worry.

"Poor _darling_, are you alright, _sweetie_?"

"Uh-uh." Sweyn shook his head, with an aggrieved air.

"Well, I don't _care_. Get up, you idiot, and go get me some more tinsel!"

"But..."

"BUT?! BUT WHAT?!?"

"Umm..."

"WELL?! WHAT?!?"

"It's just..."

Merle directed the full force of her very potent glare at him, and Sweyn's objections wavered into misty nothingness.

"YOU!" she jabbed one finger into his chest. "GO!" She shoved him out the large archway of the Grand Hall, slamming the heavy, oak, double doors behind him.

Sweyn looked around awkwardly.

"Er..." he said. "I wonder if she needs more than the twelve crates that the servants just brought in?"

* * *

Van was stretched out on his balcony, absolutely drenched. His eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful that Hitomi did not have the heart disturb him. Silently, she lay beside him, enjoying the gentle pitter-patter of the rain against her skin.He shifted positions slightly, and jerked upright when his hand grazed her waist. "Hitomi?" 

"Van..." she smiled up at him, pushing a strand of wet hair out of her eyes.

He stared at her for a long quiet moment. After a while, she began to squirm under his enthralled gaze.

"Van?" she whispered, finally.

He coloured slightly and looked away. She took heart at this.

"I love what you've done for Fanelia," she ventured, shyly.

"Really?" His eyes began to sparkle suddenly and her heart began to pound. "Really?" he asked again.

Hitomi nodded solemnly.

"Good. I hoped you would." There was a certain satisfaction in his voice, as if years and years of struggling to make Fanelia what it was... was all worth it, just because she liked it. It was the ultimate validation.

She was pensive. "It reminds me... of all those utopian dreams."

Van gave her a confused look. "Utopian?"

"Like... paradise, heaven, perfection... It _is_ perfect, Van. You made it perfect."

And the radiance of the smile he gave her made it hard to breathe.

* * *

_Beyond the... um... beyond the... indentation? Er... the dell? Er... the valley? of the... ruler? The monarch? The king! The...um... citizens were in... anguish? No...er, the people ached?_ Thus wrote Hegalus, who was a bard.

They were in... ah... er...a state of... um... famine-ness? Something... er... war? Ermm.... Revolution? Uh...

Hegalus was not a very good bard.

He frowned. This didn't sound like the stuff of legends. The _real_ "bards of old" would have memorable rhymes just tripping off their tongues. What the hell rhymed with famine? Salmon? Jammin'? _The people were having a famine because of the lack of salmon. That's so not jammin'...?_

He twirled the quill absently in his fingers, getting himself covered in blue ink in the process.

"Aww, shit," he muttered as the length of parchment on which he was writing rolled up, smearing the beginning of his "epic". No one had ever written about this in the stories. He'd joined the barding profession for the adventure and romance and because his brother had told him that chicks digged a guy who could sing. There was no mention of how hard it was to get a white feather from a stupid pigeon who was really quite fond of its own feathers. Or about how people would throw vegetables at you in the market place if you were off key. Or about how the ink would sink through the cheap parchment and make every stupid thing BLUE!!

And certainly, nobody had told him how much suffering and how many deaths were involved in a good story.

He sighed and pulled out a sheet of paper and a fountain pen.

Beyond the valley of the King 

_The people were in pain_

_Their hunger was their war cry_

_But their screams arose in vain_

Hegalus' expression was one of smug complacency. Ooooh, that was a keeper for sure.

* * *

I_n the Year of the Potbellied Pig, the Kingdom of Isandor had fallen on hard times due to the deep economic regression that had occurred as a result of the Great War _wrote Hedonin, who was a historian.

_While the War in itself was the most prosperous time in Isandorian history as the steel industry expanded rapidly, its resolution and the collective banning of the guymelefs created a huge void in the economy. This led to galloping inflation and the devaluation of the Isandorian kiin. It now took fifty-four kiin to the Fanelian dollar, while in the Year of the Cowardly Horse (the peak of the war), the kiin was the strongest currency on Gaea, and the Fanelian dollar was non-existent. Problems throughout the kingdom had led to talk of insurgence against the King, who is not, of course, Sai'tel Raean. _

Hedonin stopped writing, because that was as far as History had progressed. He blew gently at the ink until it was dry, put a ribbon in his book to mark the page, and leaned back in his chair with a feeling of accomplishment.

* * *

A bard and a historian; brothers. One who feels the people's agony, but cannot find a word to rhyme with it (Smagony? Tragony?). The other who can see rebellion as the logical result of a very consistent series of events, but can only record it with great fastidiousness in his big book.

_...pain... the king... war cries... death... in vain... poverty... hunger... rebellion... Sai'tel Raean..._

The next morning, the day after _Corinth's Day,_ amidst the desolation of a ravaged bloodstained city, they abandoned all their worldly possessions and fled.

* * *

Van sat at the head of a long table, which was mercifully empty, signing papers.

Perhaps that is not exactly accurate. Maybe, he wasn't so much sitting as... well, sprawling. And maybe not so much signing as yawning loudly and trying to find any traces of intelligence in the intelligence reports in front of him.

Another yawn, and he rubbed his eyes.

There was a knock on the door, and Van sat up ramrod straight.

"Enter," he intoned imperiously, with a regal wave of his hand.

Hitomi and Ken entered cautiously, and Van sighed with relief and slumped down in his chair again.

"Hey," he said.

"You look exhausted," asked Hitomi, with a worried smile, taking a seat beside him.

Hitomi placed her hand on his arm comfortingly and he blinked incomprehensibly at it for a full twenty seconds before working up the nerve to place his hand on top of hers. He considered that feeling so preposterously happy at this simple contact was a touch pathetic. And considered further that he really didn't care.

Van shook his head. "Not tired. Bored stiff!"

She laughed. "Do you want some help?"

Van shrugged. "I'd love it if you helped, but I wouldn't inflict this rot on my worst enemy..." He paused as that sunk into both their minds. "Well, okay," he conceded, finally. "Maybe I'd inflict it on Dilandau, but even then, I'd feel a little bad about it."

Hitomi slipped a sheaf of papers out of the pile and flicked through it. "Mercedonia requests Fanelian support in demanding that Kierad cede the province of Jaeul... blah blah blah... four hundred Mercedonian citizens in Jaeul... religious reasons.... Etc. etc..." she read.

Van sighed. "It's bullshit, really. Mercedonia has fifty thousand citizens and Kierad is hovering just above complete bankruptcy. Jaeul's the only bit of it that's even marginally successful. But we just renegotiated a trade agreement with Mercedonia and nerves are still rather raw, so I can't just deny Fanelian support..." He smiled sheepishly. "Actually, I have no idea what to do with all of this. It's a huge issue, especially since Mereck (the king, you know) is half-heartedly threatening to take it by force if we don't support him." He groaned and stared at his timepiece. "And I have to address the Court of Lords in about three minutes. "

Ken, who was beginning to look as if he had just been handed the biggest chocolate cake in the world, grinned widely.

"Ken? Something up?" asked Hitomi, wryly.

"Up? What could be up? It's not as if I've trained for the past four years hoping and praying that I'd one day, many decades from now, be able to be in just this situation."

Van raised an eyebrow. "Beg pardon?"

"Oh!" Hitomi exclaimed suddenly, realization dawning. "You trained at the military college, didn't you, Ken? Majored in international politics and conflict resolution?"

He just kept grinning.

"Well, that's convenient," said Van, not a little tetchily. "What do you suggest I do, then?"

"Well, obviously I don't know much about politics here, but from what I can see you're working with a traditional monarchy," he observed, with just a touch of smugness (which Van detected and chafed at). "There's probably a reason why this won't work—but you could hold a referendum."

"Sorry?" said Van, rather vexed by the fact that he seemed to appearing rather incompetent in front of Hitomi. "What _is_ a referen—whatever...?"

"A referendum. It's a poll, a vote, by the people on what they think of the issue. Basically, just put it to a vote amongst the people of... Jaeul, wasn't it?, about whether they want to stay where they are or join Merecedonia."

Van nodded slowly. "That way I can say that it was the people of Jaeul who decided and make it clear from the beginning that I am fully on the side of the people... That's... that's _brilliant_. Did you just come up with that?"

Ken waffled. "Sort of. It's been done on Earth—"

"—the Mystic Moon—" interjected Hitomi.

"—right, it's been done a couple of times before. I just applied it—"

A sound outside, like a baby elephant with a cold, interrupted him.

Van snapped to attention. He jumped up, grabbed his crown from the sideboard, jammed it on his head (where it slipped down to rest on his nose, and he pushed it back up, embarrassed), and pulling all the papers in some semblance of order, took a very formal seat at the head of the table.

Hitomi look amused and he blushed slightly.

"It's the herald," he explained. "That means that the Court of Lords is about to start."

"Should we go?" asked Hitomi.

"NO! Er... no, please don't."

The doors opened and a procession of Lords came in, being announced by Shawn Ogg in a nasal voice as they entered.

When Sir Bernard Marx was announced, Hitomi and Ken exchanged puzzled looks.

When the young Lord Fauntleroy was announced, they began to get anxious.

When Lord Benedick came in, Hitomi tapped Ken's hands across the table, and Van sulked a little.

When Sir Samuel Vimes entered, swaggering a little, Hitomi grinned delightedly and Ken shook his head.

But when Sir Michael Cassio entered, both Ken and Hitomi disintegrated into muted giggles

There was a short awkward paused when all the Lords had been seated, as they gave Hitomi and Ken the once-over.

Hitomi began to scribble frantically on her paper. _... Marx, Fauntleroy, Benedick, Henchard, Trueba, Bazarov, Helmer, Vimes, Cassio..._ she wrote.

Van gave her a questioning look, which she did not notice. Instead, she turned to Ken, seeking some sort of authentication. The minutes from the last Court were read ex officio, but Hitomi and Ken continued to talk in inaudible, unobtrusive whispers.

And Van felt tiny stirrings of characteristic possessiveness in the pit of his stomach. This guy... Ken... who exactly was he to Hitomi? And where, exactly, did that leave Van? And _what_, pray tell, was going on?

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Note: A metaphorical chocolate to anyone who gets the joke!

Whoo! 3000plus words! I love this chapter. Please review!


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